


Believe

by captainamergirl



Category: One Life to Live
Genre: F/M, Gen, Giving OLTL my own ending, M/M, Miss this show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-06-30 01:00:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19842235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: A twist in our story... [OLTL cast fic]





	1. Impatience

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up a few episodes *before* the ABC-TV finale of One Life to Live in 2012.

**Chapter 1: Impatience**   
  
Tea Delgado stared at the black and white image on the monitor screen and felt a tear drip down her cheek. She cleared her throat which was clogged with so much emotion. “So can – can you tell me the baby’s sex this time, Dr. Wright?” she asked as she continued to look at the grainy but ultimately beautiful and yet heartbreaking sight before her.   
  
“Yes I can. You’re having another girl, Tea,” Vivian said with a smile.    
  
“A little girl?” Tea murmured as another tear streaked down her face. “Daniella will be so happy. So will Victor. I mean, he would have been if –“ She broke off. Was she ever going to get used to the idea that Victor was dead, really dead? He had been gone for months now and she still couldn’t wrap her mind around the notion that he was never returning to her; that he was really and truly dead and that his own twin brother had been the one to take his life. Tea felt her heart begin to race at the very thought. Tomas had still not returned either from wherever Todd had exiled him too. When was Todd going to stop destroying her life?   
  
“Tea, is everything okay?” Vivian asked, watching Tea’s expression twist. “I know this has to be a hard situation –“   
  
“Sorry,” Tea said and grasped her ever-expanding tummy. “I was just thinking how Victor isn’t going to see this miracle and –“   
  
Vivian set down the transducer and reached for Tea’s hand, giving it a sympathetic squeeze. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, Tea, I really can’t. But I have to ask – as your doctor – that you take it easy so that your baby will have an easy next four months.”   
  
“I know. I don’t want to hurt her –“   
  
“And you won’t provided that you take care of yourself and that of course means, keeping your blood pressure down and trying not to worry so much.”   
  
Tea nodded. “I will protect my daughter. This baby means everything to me.” And she meant it. She could definitely calm down more once Todd was in prison though, rotting away for all of his many sins. Better yet, he deserved to get a lethal injection. That was much more fitting considering what Todd had stolen away from her.   
  
“I know,” Vivian said. “You can go now and I’ll see you next month.” She then squeezed Tea’s hand once more and left the room so Tea could get changed. Tea rubbed her belly lightly, whispered to her baby that everything would be okay, and then grabbed her purse off the little table beside her. She immediately dug out her cell phone and dialed.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Natalie Banks was sitting in John’s apartment, tapping her foot anxiously, as she waited for her fiancé to show up. Yes, her fiancé. She couldn’t believe that John had proposed to her again and that they were going to be married. After all the pain they had suffered in the last few years, they had finally gotten it right. They were going to be together forever.   
  
“Now if only he’d get here,” Natalie murmured as she played with the hem on the little trench coat she was wearing. It had been nearly a week since she and John had had a moment alone to make love and she wanted to remind him of what he was missing. She was completely nude beneath the coat and she knew he would love this little surprise she had cooked up for him.   
  
After what seemed like hours of waiting, she finally heard the key turning in the lock. She smiled as she jumped to her feet and opened the front of her trench coat. John was about to get an eyeful!   
  
The door opened and she smiled wider before she noticed who was standing there. “Roxie, what the hell?!” She flushed bright red all over and quickly cinched the belt around her waist, effectively covering herself. She gathered the material at her neck and screamed, “Get out!”   
  
Roxie smiled. “Oooh were you planning a kinky surprise for Johnny?”   
  
“Well it certainly wasn’t for you!” Natalie returned in a huff.   
  
“Where is lover boy anyway?” Roxie asked, looking around like she expected John to pop up from behind the sofa.   
  
“Not here!” Natalie said. “Now can you leave?”   
  
“I wanted to talk to John,” Roxie grumbled.   
  
“Roxie, you can’t just come in here anytime you want to.”   
  
Roxie held up the key ring. “I have this.”   
  
“For emergencies, Roxie, emergencies,” Natalie said. “What if John and I had been –“   
  
“What – doing the mattress mambo?” Roxie asked and laughed as Natalie stomped over to her and shoved her towards the door. “I was kidding, Natty, I was just –“ Natalie didn’t hear the rest because she had slammed the door in Roxie’s face.   
  
“Where are you, John?” Natalie wondered aloud then as she leaned against the wall and wrung her hands anxiously. She had a feeling things were about to get complicated between her and her favorite cop once again and she didn’t relish it. Complications where John was concerned always spelled disaster.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
“You rang, Counselor?” John asked as he walked into the hospital to find Tea sitting in the waiting room, tapping her foot impatiently.   
  
“John, thank god, you’re here!” Tea exclaimed as she stood up and moved over to him. She then grabbed his arm and fairly yanked him into a deserted alcove under the stairs.   
  
“Eager to see me, huh?” John said. “I take it it’s not because you missed me …”   
  
“John, be serious,” Tea said. “Please. I gave you the records on Todd’s phone nearly a month ago. You have to have something on him by now - something to bring my brother home. Maybe he also made an incriminating call to someone about Victor …”   
  
“We’re still working on it. Todd was pretty careful to never to call the same place more than a few times. We’ll figure this out, okay? Don’t worry.”   
  
Tea touched her protruding belly pointedly. “How can I not? Todd is running around a free man while my brother is missing and my child is going to have to grow up without a father because of him.” Tea’s eyes filled with emotion and soon tears followed. She clutched John’s arm almost as if for support to keep herself from falling over. “John, we’re having a girl. Victor and I. We’re having a baby girl…”   
  
John instinctively put his hand on Tea’s back and guided her over to another chair. He lightly forced her down into it and knelt at her side. “We’re going to catch him, Tea, I promise you that. Give me a few more days and I will be serving Manning with an arrest warrant. I mean that.”   
  
Tea nodded as more tears slid down her cheeks and she made no effort to wipe them away. She looked completely shattered to John and his heart went out to her. He would keep his promise and make sure that justice was finally served. He had nothing against Todd Manning but no one deserved to get away with murder in his mind.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
“It’s here, it’s here!” Blair Cramer crowed as she sprinted through the foyer so fast that she nearly tripped over her own stiletto-clad feet. Todd appeared at the top of the stairs with Sam on his hip.   
  
“Seriously?” He asked. “Well why didn’t you say so?”   
  
“I just did,” Blair pointed out with a smirk. “Starr sent us a letter.”   
  
“Just like she promised she would,” Todd said as he carried Sam down the stairs and then set him on his own two feet. “I raised a good daughter.”   
  
“We raised a good daughter,” Blair said, rolling her eyes.   
  
“Well don’t just stand there – open it. I want to know if she’s doing alright.”   
  
Blair looked at Sam who was watching the two adults curiously. “Is Starr coming home soon?” Sam asked.   
  
“No, honey, she’s not,” Blair said sadly as she passed the letter to Todd and leaned down and gave Sam a hug. “But she still loves you, always.”   
  
“I know,” Sam said. “But I miss her.”   
  
“You and me both,” Blair said as she looked at Todd ripping into the letter and devouring it with his eyes. “And your uncle misses her too. A lot. Everyone does.”   
  
“Why did she leave?” Sam asked.   
  
“Remember we told you that after Cole died that she needed time to think and she and Hope are doing just that.”   
  
Sam shrugged. “She could think here.”   
  
“I wish,” Blair said and sighed. “Anyway why don’t you go set up the X-Box and then Uncle Todd can challenge you to a game in just a minute?”   
  
“I always win,” Sam pointed out. “There’s no challenge.” But he shrugged and walked into the living room and started setting up the system.   
  
Blair moved over to Todd and snatched the letter from him. “Hey!” Todd protested. “I was reading that.”   
  
“We can read it together,” Blair said and she dropped down on the bottom stair. She beckoned Todd over and he joined her. Blair then began to read in a teary voice to Todd from Starr’s missive.   
  
“She says she’s doing great,” Blair concluded. “That she feels at home where she is.”   
  
Todd looked at the letter. “She didn’t mention Cole is alive? Or that she’s with Patrick and Marty? Or break our word code in anyway?”   
  
“Nope,” Blair said. “She is handling this way better than either of us would.”   
  
Todd nodded. “Yeah …”   
  
Blair touched his arm. “You miss her, don’t you? You miss our daughter?”   
  
“Of course I do,” Todd said almost defensively. “But we both know that she wouldn’t have been truly happy here without Cole.”   
  
“What about you, Todd?” Blair asked, squeezing his arm.   
  
“What about me?”   
  
“Can you be happy here without Starr?”   
  
“I am trying,” Todd said and then stood and walked in to see Sam, leaving Blair sitting alone on the staircase.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Tea and John were walking out of the hospital when an ambulance suddenly pulled up in front of them, nearly running them both off of the curb. “Damn,” Tea cursed as John caught her before she could fall down. She looked up at him for a long moment and then turned away as he yelled at the paramedic not to kill civilians.   
  
The paramedics were unloading the patient on a stretcher and just glared at John and Tea. “We were trying to save a life here.”   
  
“Well don’t take others in the process,” John shot back angrily.   
  
He started to guide Tea safely off the curb when she screamed, “Oh my god!”   
  
“What? Are you hurt?” John immediately asked, looking her over. She was quaking where she stood. “Is it the baby?”   
  
Tea shook her head and just pointed at the patient. “It’s Carlotta!”   
  
John looked at the nearly ghostly pale, immobile woman on the stretcher and indeed it was Carlotta Vega.   
  
Tea screamed at the paramedic. “What happened to her?”   
  
One of the paramedics shot back, “Are you family?” as he began running ahead with the gurney.   
  
“No.”   
  
“Well if you know someone who is, call them,” the medic said. “It’s not looking too good for this woman.”


	2. Potential

**Chapter 2: Potential**  
  
 _“Oh god!”_ Nora Buchanan cried out as she looked at the detailed datebook in front of her. There were so many notations in it, so many things she had to be doing, so many plans and goals she had yet to accomplish. But that’s not what she was concerned with right now. No, because she was … No, she couldn’t be … She couldn’t… _Could she?_   
  
Could she really be … _Pregnant?!_ No, no way. Sure, she was two weeks late and she was never late. And yes, lord knew how she and Bo had been making love a lot lately -- ever since the scare with Troy; they had been insatiable actually, realizing how truly short life was... But pregnant … No, not her. She had had two children already, she had just become grandmother to a beautiful little boy named Drew, she had a hectic schedule and there was no way she could be expecting. And yet …  
  
She did feel a bit light-headed and queasy. Maybe it was just something she ate or maybe it was the thought of being pregnant that had her so out of sorts…  
  
She rubbed her forehead. “Get a grip, Nora, you are not … not THAT!” She told herself as she turned around in her desk chair and shut her date book. However, she wondered: would it be so bad if she was? It wouldn’t be so terrible to have a baby at all and she would love raising a child that she knew from the get-go belonged to Bo. She could imagine a little baby girl with Bo’s eyes and smile. God, what a beautiful baby that would be. She had also seen how Destiny was with Drew, and Nora realized she wanted that. Maybe she wanted that … A lot…  
  
“There’s only one way to find out if this is true,” she murmured to herself. “I have to call Vivian.” She swiveled in her chair again to face the phone and started to reach for it when her door opened. She dropped the phone with a clatter into its cradle as she noticed her husband walk into the room. “Hey, Cowboy,” she said and her voice sounded high to her own ears.  
  
“Hey, gorgeous,” Bo replied and walked over to her, planting a kiss on her lips. Her hands found either side of his face as if by their own volition. He kissed her deeply and she tingled all over.  
  
They only pulled apart for the sake of breathing and she touched her puffy lips. “What was that for?”  
  
“Do I need a reason to kiss my beautiful wife?” Bo asked as he stroked her cheek tenderly.  
  
“Not at all.”  
  
“I took the rest of the day off. I thought we could head home, pop the cork on a bottle of wine, and spend the rest of the night in each other’s arms. What do you say, Red?”  
  
“I say it sounds wonderful… Except no wine for me,” Nora answered. “You see, Bo, there’s … there’s something I have to tell you. Something that could change our lives. Potentially … very much.”  
  
Bo cocked his head to the side. “What is it?”  
  
“Bo, I’m – “ Nora broke off for a moment and splayed her hands. “Bo, I’m pregnant!” She cried out.  
  
XoXoXo  
  
Tea felt weak in the knees at the very idea of Carlotta, who was like an aunt to her, or a mother even, lying on an operating table alone and fighting for her life. “God, what happened to her?” Tea moaned out. She didn’t know how much more heartache she could stand. Why was everyone around her falling apart and how could she help, when she couldn’t even help herself?  
  
A tear slid unbidden down her cheek and she felt John take her hand and lead her back inside the hospital. She felt that but everything else around her was a blur. She had lost Victor. She had lost Tomas. Not Carlotta too. Please, no…. She didn’t know how much more loss she could take and not curl up into a ball and die herself.  
  
“You sit down. I’ll find out what’s wrong with Carlotta.”  
  
Tea wiped her tear-streaked face. She then reached inside her purse and started digging around for her cell phone. She pulled it out even as her hand shook. “I need to call Antonio. Cristian. They need to know that their mother-“  
  
“For now, you just need to calm down,” John said commandingly. “Take some deep breaths, okay? You need that much. It’s pretty obvious. At least wait until I come back with news.”  
  
“You’re not Carlotta’s family. Knowing the hospital rules, they can’t tell you anything or they’ll be criminally negligible and –“  
  
“I will find out something. You just calm down and take those deep breaths I mentioned.”  
  
Tea nodded. “Yeah, okay…” She watched him walk away and then settled her hands on her rounded abdomen. “John’s right, baby girl. I can’t keep acting like this. It’s not good for you. I will calm down, somehow I will. Just … Don’t give up on me, okay?” She murmured. She knew she was drawing looks from other people in the waiting room but she didn’t care at the moment. Let them stare.  
  
John returned within two minutes and dropped down into the seat next to her. Tea dabbed at her damp face. “Did you find out anything?”  
  
“Yeah. Carlotta has had a stroke. A pretty bad one, I guess.”  
  
“Oh god, I don’t – this is horrible!” Tea cried. “Seriously terrible. Carlotta is a dear friend of mine. More like a mother to me than my own mother ever was… Sorry … What else did they say?”  
  
“My badge only got me that much information, I am afraid.”  
  
“You used your badge to get information?”  
  
“Yeah. Some people will say anything when they see a badge flashed in front of their eyes.”  
  
“Not Todd,” Tea said bitterly. “You have interrogated him again and again and he won’t even be decent enough to tell the truth about what he did to my brother and my husband. I –“ She broke off and rubbed her tummy. “Never mind. I am going to try to calm down enough to call Cris and Antonio. They need to know about their mom. If she doesn’t make it –“  
  
John nodded and he squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t think the worst.”  
  
Tea sniffled. “How can I not when the worst scenario is what always happens …?”  
  
XoXoXo  
  
“You’re –“  
  
Nora shook her head. “No. I mean, I’m not sure. But I have some of the symptoms. I’m late. Two weeks late, in fact. You know me, I’m normally like clockwork and –“ She broke off. “If I am pregnant, Bo, how will you feel about that?”  
  
“Red, how will you feel?” Bo asked, taking her hands in his and giving them a gentle but firm squeeze.  
  
“I don’t know, Bo, but it’s a lot to take in. Me, pregnant? I would have thought by now it was impossible. I am getting on in years, after all –“  
  
“You’re more vibrant now than you ever were,” Bo interrupted. “But you’re thinking here. What do you _feel,_ Red? If you’re pregnant, how are you going to feel?”  
  
Nora smiled a little wider. “Bo, I think I would love it. I really do. At first all I could think about was what an interruption it would be to our busy lives but then the idea… I fell in love in with the idea in the next second, Bo. I love the idea of having a child with you. In fact, I want that more than anything.” Her eyes filled with emotional tears. “Now tell me, Bo, please. How do you feel about the possibility that we could be parents again when we have a grandchild who is barely a month old?”  
  
“I think Drew would love having a playmate... Red, this could be the greatest gift of our lives. If you’re pregnant, I could not be happier.” He then pulled her into his arms and crushed her as gently as he could against his chest. “I love you, Nora.”  
  
“I love you too, Cowboy. So you know what happens next right?” She asked. “We have to see someone and take a test. I could do an over the counter one but I want to hear it from a doctor’s lips either way. If we are pregnant, I want them to explain any risks that there could be with me having a baby at my age.”  
  
“Nora, you are not old.”  
  
“I just want to be sure,” Nora said. “We can see Vivian tomorrow if she can fit us in. We can find out the truth together.”  
  
Bo nodded. “Sounds like a plan … Until then, can I take you home and spend the night with you?”  
  
“Yes!” Nora cried and hugged him tightly. “Please do!”  
  
XoXoXo  
  
While Tea was making calls to Carlotta’s sons, John had a phone call of his own to make. He called the station and asked for his good buddy Vinny. Vinny was one of the few people he trusted enough to go through Todd’s phone records thoroughly. John had promised Tea that he would get justice for Victor and Tomas and he had meant it. He sensed she was going to come apart if he didn’t get some news soon.  
  
Vinny came on the line. “John?”  
  
“Hey, Vin,” John greeted him somberly. “You got anything new for me?”  
  
“Actually, yes,” Vinny said. “I was about to call you. You know I went over these records back and forwards for a month and nothing jumped out at me. Well I finally plugged the last numbers into the computer and guess what? A number I traced to a hotel in Istanbul popped up. I have a feeling, Mr. Manning would –“  
  
“Would stash someone there?”  
  
“Yeah. Maybe Tomas Delgado. I can’t think of another reason he would be calling Istanbul, do you?”  
  
“I am sure there’s some explanation but just to be sure, I have to check it out. Did you find anything else out?”  
  
“Not much. I didn’t want anyone to alert Manning that we are on his tail but I do know that some of Manning's millions are financing this hotel.”  
  
“Nice work, Vinny, I will have to check this out. Thanks.”  
  
“Anytime, buddy.”  
  
John disconnected the phone and moved over to Tea. She was just closing her own phone and looked up at him. “I caught Antonio but Cristian didn’t answer. Antonio says he will call him though. Antonio and Jamie will be on the next flight back here. I am sure Cristian will follow too once he knows what happened.”  
  
“That’s good that they will be there for their mother.”  
  
“Yes. No one should be alone,” Tea said and offered a weak smile. “I am going to stay here awhile in case there’s any news on Carlotta.”  
  
“Okay but I need to talk to you first. Outside…”  
  
Tea nodded. “Okay. I just hope no ambulances jump the curb at us this time.”  
  
“I hope not,” John agreed as they fell into step. When they were outside, John turned to look at Tea. “I have some news. Potentially promising news.”  
  
Tea stopped in her tracks and looked around to be sure they weren’t being listened to. When she was sure they were alone, she grabbed his arm instinctively. “You found Tomas?”  
  
“Possibly. Manning has something cooking in Istanbul and I am going to find exactly what he’s involved in over there.”  
  
“Are you flying there – like tonight?”  
  
“That’s the plan.”  
  
“Ohmigod, John, ohmigod! We’re gunna nail that sonuvabitch to the wall. I feel it in my bones. Let’s go get plane tickets!” She started to walk ahead but he pulled her back.  
  
“I’ll get the plane ticket, Tea. You are going to stay here.”  
  
“No, hell no, John. When we bring down Todd –“  
  
“You leaving town with me will be a red flag we’re up to something. You need to stay here and play it cool just a little while longer. Okay? This is the right thing to do.”  
  
“John –“  
  
“Come on, counselor. I will be in touch soon, I promise, but you know you can’t come. Besides, Dani is going to need you. So is Carlotta. Plus you need to relax and take care of yourself and your baby.”  
  
Tea let out a long breath and then nodded. “Okay, John. Just swear. Swear we’re going to bring Todd down for ruining my life.”  
  
“I swear,” John agreed with a solemn nod.


	3. Ready?

**Chapter 3: Ready?**   
  
“You ready for this, cowboy?” Nora asked, her hand trembling slightly in his much larger one.   
  
Bo squeezed her hand as they sat in Vivian’s office the next morning waiting for her to return with Nora’s test results. He nodded. “Ready as I can be. We’re not too old to be hearing the little pitter patter of feet, are we?”   
  
“I hope not,” Nora said. “And after the way we’ve been making love lately …”   
  
Bo smiled and lifted her hand to his lips, giving her palm a soft kiss. “It’s been glorious, hasn’t it, Red?”   
  
“If I’m not pregnant though, Bo …” She broke off as the door suddenly opened and Vivian strode inside, looking like her normal efficient and cool and calm under pressure herself. Bo watched her for some hint, some clue, trying to figure out what she would say, but Vivian gave away nothing. Neither Bo nor Nora could begin to guess what she was about to tell them.   
  
“Thanks for being patient, you two,” Vivian said as she slid behind her desk chair. “It’s been a hectic day but I put a rush on your test results.”   
  
“Thank you,” Nora said gratefully. “Can you tell us if – if we’re pregnant?”   
  
Bo squeezed his wife’s hand again gently as they waited for Vivian to speak. “In fact, I can,” Vivian said. “I can see that you were hoping for a child but –“   
  
Nora’s eyes immediately pooled with tears. “I’m – I’m not pregnant, am I?” She asked.   
  
Vivian shook her head. “No, Nora, I’m afraid not.”   
  
“But I had the symptoms –“ Nora cried and a single tear rolled down her cheek.   
  
“My guess is that you are nearing menopause, Nora. That condition can mimic some of the pregnancy symptoms, such as late or completely absent periods and –“   
  
Bo felt Nora let go of his hand and then in the next second, she was storming out of the room. Bo immediately took off after her.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Natalie awakened on John’s couch with a huge crick in her neck. She looked around for him – for any evidence that he had been here during the hours she was asleep on his hard sofa, but there was no evidence to be found. “Dammit, John,” she muttered. “Where the hell are you?”   
  
She looked at her cell phone on the scarred and scuffed coffee table and reached for it. She hoped John had called to explain just where the hell he was. She put it to her ear and heard that she had one message. From John.   
  
She was already frowning to begin with but by the end of hearing the message, she was positively fuming.   
  
_“Hey, Natalie, it’s John. I hate to just check out on you like this but I have to handle an urgent business matter so I will be out of the country for a few days. Stay well, okay? I’ll be in touch eventually.”_   
  
“Eventually, John, eventually?!” Natalie screamed and heaved the phone across the room. “I am your fiancée and that’s all I get?” She felt sick to her stomach at the very thought that John could pick up and leave her so easily like this. Was he even really on a business trip and if so, what kind of business trip? They both worked at the same station and she hadn’t heard a peep about a reason he could be leaving town so abruptly. Was he having an affair? After all, he hadn’t said “I love you” in his message … The thought that he could be involved with someone else gutted her. Then she quickly tried to shake off the idea. No, no way. John was a lot of things but he wouldn’t cheat on her like this when they had just reunited. He loved her and their son too much.   
  
Natalie stood up and moved over to the closet where she kept a few items of clothing. She had realized she was still wearing the trench coat and nothing else from the night before. She found a pair of jeans and a form-fitting purple top and changed into them. She then cast aside the trench coat in defeat and anger and started to the door. She had to get home to Liam; she wanted to make sure he was okay. She wanted to hold him tightly in her arms and assure him that his daddy was coming back to them.   
  
She was just opening the door when she nearly got a fist in her face. She ducked in time to avoid being smacked by whomever had been about to knock on the door. She looked up then and couldn’t believe her eyes.   
  
“What the hell are you doing here?” She demanded as her eyes settled on those of Brody Lovett.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Bo found Nora huddled in a chair at the end of the hallway. His heart immediately went out to her and he hurried to her, dropping down on his knees in front of her. She buried her face in her hands and silently cried. Bo’s heart broke for her and he reached for her hands, prying them away from her eyes. He felt the salty-stickiness of her tears on his fingers as he reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Hey, Red, talk to me,” he said softly.   
  
Nora shook her head as more tears streaked down her face. “What is there to say, Bo? You heard Vivian. I am not pregnant and I may already be nearing menopause. That is –“ She shook her head. “I shouldn’t be this upset, Bo. I thought I was pregnant for a little over a day. I shouldn’t be taking this so hard.”   
  
“Nora, you wanted the baby.”   
  
“There is NO baby, Bo,” Nora said. “You heard Vivian. My biological clock is obviously not even ticking anymore and –“   
  
“Honey-“   
  
Nora reached out and gripped Bo’s shoulders so tightly it was almost painful but he didn’t pull away. “Bo, I wanted that baby. When I thought I was pregnant, things made sense for a minute there. I was scared at first – scared it would be an interruption of our already chaotic lives - but in practically the next moment, I felt complete. All I want to do, Bo, is give you a child. A baby girl with your eyes.”   
  
Bo nodded. “I know but if that doesn’t happen for us-“   
  
“It won’t!” Nora thundered. “I am past my prime!”   
  
Bo shook his head emphatically now. “No, not even close. You are more youthful and radiant than you’ve ever been. And if you want a baby so much, Red, then we will try our darndest for one. Although I hope she has your eyes and your flaming hair.”   
  
“Oh, Bo,” Nora said, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck for a moment.   
  
He rubbed her back softly in circles. “I don’t care what any tests say, Nora. We will have a child – somehow, someway, I promise you that.”   
  
“We can’t make a miracle happen,” Nora whispered.   
  
“Yes, we can. We have before and we will again. You are going to have another baby someday, Red, I promise you that.”   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Tea was back at the hospital early in the morning to see what she could find out about Carlotta’s condition. Which was really not much. All she could glean from talking to the staff was that her dear friend was still fighting for her life.   
  
She bought herself a cup of lukewarm “hot” chocolate and settled into a chair in the waiting room. She was expecting one or both of the Vega boys any minute. She was antsy as she shifted in the hard chair. She was worried about Carlotta but also worried that John wouldn’t bring home her brother – that Todd would get away with all the crap he had pulled.   
  
She felt tired and achy but she sat there for a good while before she heard a familiar voice calling her name. “Tea!” Antonio Vega said as he rushed into the hospital, his hand wrapped around his little daughter’s. Except she wasn’t so little anymore. Jamie was growing into a beautiful girl. For a moment, Tea smiled, thinking of her own daughters.   
  
“Hey, Tonio, Jamie,” Tea greeted them as she heaved herself out of the chair and moved over to them.   
  
“Hey,” Antonio greeted her somberly, giving her a quick hug. “How’s mi madre? How’s Mami?”   
  
“I don’t much more than I told you on the phone yesterday. They won’t speak to me because I’m not a blood relation. Hopefully you can find something out.”   
  
“I will definitely try,” Antonio said. “Can you watch Jamie while I try to track down a doctor?”   
  
“Of course,” Tea said and Antonio ruffled Jamie’s hair before hurrying away.   
  
Tea turned to face Jamie. “Do you remember me, Jamie? You were so little when we last saw each other….”   
  
Jamie shook her head shyly. Tea smiled. “Well you can get to know me now while your daddy is doing what he needs to do. I would love to hear all about what you and Antonio have been up to in New York City all this time.”   
  
Tea settled Jamie and herself into chairs in the waiting room and they began to talk.   
  
XoXoXo   
  
Antonio talked to Larry Wolek, who had just taken over Carlotta’s case this morning. He used words like “clotting”, “stroke”, “pressure”, and others that made Antonio instinctively feel sick to his stomach. Larry tried to assure Antonio they were doing everything they could for his mother but Antonio still didn’t feel very good about all of it.   
  
He asked to see Carlotta and was told that she was in a comatose state and that he should prepare himself for what he saw. He couldn’t have. He walked into the small hospital room and saw his mother lying there, looking so pale and small and unlike herself, that he immediately gave into silent tears. He moved over to her and griped her hand tightly as he dared.   
  
“Hey, Mami,” he said as he knelt at her bedside. “I can’t believe you’re here but Dr. Wolek told me you managed to call an ambulance when you were in distress so that tells me you are strong as ever. That you can fight this. You definitely can. You need to come back to me, to Jamie, to Cristian, and all the people who love you, okay? Cristian is on his way from Spain. He should be here in a few hours I think and I would like him to be able to look into those amazing eyes of yours and see that you’re going to be fine. So open your eyes, alright, and show us the fighter that you’ve always been. I don’t want to lose you. Life wouldn’t be the same without you in it so please, please open your eyes. Please, Mami …”   
  
He waited for a sign that Carlotta would be alright but none came.


End file.
